oxymoron
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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Starting a business in retirement may sound like an oxymoron, but the idea has quite a few virtues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
“Foreseeable future” is an oxymoron right up there with “jumbo shrimp.”
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
That sounds like an oxymoron: We don’t tend to expect illness or old age to create a problem in our life when we are young, but preparing for such eventualities is important.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 9, 2025
When four top film studio musicians formed the Hollywood String Quartet in the late 1930s, its name was presumed an oxymoron.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2025
Somehow Paris has transformed Black Lightning and me into that oxymoron Sahara and I were talking about—a combination of contradictions that take on a new meaning together.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
“People think ‘disabled’ and ‘hiker’ are oxymorons, like you can’t be disabled and go hiking, and that’s just not true at all,” Nagakyrie said.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2023
He reconciled the contradictions of capitalism by embracing oxymorons.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2020
The story deals in oxymorons – bitter desire, weak power – and jolts to a conclusion that is harsh, cool, indelible.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 2, 2019
What it creates are these sports oxymorons, all in the hope of gaining fame by virtue of having none.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2018
“I erased my entire hard drive last night. I need to load everything back on and rewrite that essay for English. Hey, Brady, remember those oxymorons we talked about in lit the other day?”
From "Red Kayak" by Priscilla Cummings
Vocabulary lists containing oxymoron
Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Introductory
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Poetry: Literary Devices
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AP English Lit exam terms
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